


Schooled

by ralst



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-29
Updated: 2016-05-29
Packaged: 2018-07-11 00:31:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7015594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ralst/pseuds/ralst
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sameen goes undercover as a school nurse when their latest number turns out to be a middle aged guidance counselor with no known criminal connections. It should have been an easy assignment but when Root turned up as a substitute IT teacher Sameen just knew that nothing would go to plan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Schooled

**Author's Note:**

> A difference of opinion with her make-up counter boss sees Sameen fired before her run in with Martine; so her cover is intact and Samaritan are still lurking around every corner.

_"James Valenzuela. 52. A guidance counsellor at John F. Kennedy High School. Divorced. No children. Lives alone in a two bedroom apartment on Dumont Avenue. No known criminal connections."_

Shaw listened to the litany of facts with barely a flicker of interest. Her own catalogue of information: height, weight, ethnicity, physical fitness and probability of defensive or military training was quickly added to Harold's and stored away in her mental dossier. On the surface their latest number looked as dull and boring as the vast majority of the population but the Machine's warning had marked him as different. 

"Sam, is it?" The woman to Shaw's left was smiling at her with an overabundance of sweetness and Shaw had to force herself to offer a smile in return. "I'm Angela. Angela Britt?" The name meant nothing to Shaw and that information must have been clear on her face as her welcoming committee continued to chatter away aimlessly. "English Lit, for my sins, been here since the dawn of time." She gave off a laugh that was obviously well practised and of little meaning. "Mrs Trumble asked me to show you around." 

"Right." Shaw's smile made a brief appearance and she reluctantly broke off her visual assessment of their latest number to follow her guide around the small teacher's lounge as she was introduced to the jumbled mix of mostly middle aged educators. 

_"Ellen Massey, 39, two convictions for DUI in her twenties,"_ Harold supplied, as she continued her circuit. _"Bob Dillard, 43, neighbours reported a domestic disturbance last year but no charges were filed."_ Shaw's smile became even more fixed as she looked at the man but she quickly moved on to the next, far more recognisable, figure. 

"And this is Delia," Angela continued, her hand resting momentarily against Shaw's forearm as she confided, "another new girl." The comment was followed by a laugh from her matronly guide and a far too happy smile from Root. 

Shaw ignored Root and continued with her tour but couldn't quite dismiss the feeling of eyes watching her as 'Delia' stared quite openly at her denim covered rear end as she finished her introductions. "Well, that's us," said Angela, her hand once again resting against Shaw's forearm and earning her a smirk from Root. "One big dysfunctional family." 

"Speak for yourself," groused Dillard, his sour expression lifting as he raked his eyes over Shaw's body in a display that made even Root look discreet by contrast. 

Valenzuela huffed in annoyance. "Leave the girl be," he instructed, his voice surprisingly authoritative for such an unimposing figure; Shaw quickly revaluated her assessment of the man as she realised he wasn't as meek and mild as his thin frame and stooped shoulders had led her to believe. 

_"School records indicate that Mr Valenzuela has filed three separate grievances against Mr Dillard over the past seven years. Two of which claimed inappropriate conduct towards female students whilst the most recent, lodged five days ago, claimed that Mr Dillard had been harassing a fellow teacher: Elizabeth Mayer."_

_"Mayer called in sick on Monday,_ " John added, from his position on the roof of the apartment building across from Elizabeth Mayer. _"She's been holed up in her apartment since we got the number."_

__

_"Her phone records indicate she has made three calls to Mr Valenzuela since her absence from school but we were unable to clone either of their phones in time to record the conversations. Miss Groves has since taken care of our number's phone."_ Harold paused, censure in the delay. _"Mr Reese?"_

__

_"I'm working on it Harold."_

If she weren't surrounded by civilians Shaw would have smiled at the exasperation that managed to leak through John's usually deadpan tone; the smirk on 'Delia's' face showed that Root had no trouble enjoying the moment. 

"Bob's only being friendly, aren't you Bob?" Root eased herself into the conversation, her words gaining Dillard's approval and her tone winning over the obviously far more intelligent Valenzuela. 

Dillard's smile was the definition of a leer as he stared at Root and it didn't take much for Shaw to imagine the once over he'd given the hacker on their introduction. "Such a friendly bunch." Shaw looked from Root to Dillard before turning to Valenzuela. "Sam," she said, reintroducing herself. "You're the guidance counsellor, right?" He nodded. "Maybe we could get together later to discuss any potential issues with the students?" 

Valenzuela's smile was warm and friendly as he nodded in agreement and quickly ran through his day's schedule until they found a time that suited them both. _"Did you get that, Finch?"_ Shaw asked as she deposited her plastic coffee cup in the trash and followed the teachers out of the lounge. 

_"Yes, thank you, Miss Shaw."_ Back at the subway station Harold ran the list of appointments in Valenzuela's calendar against the far less detailed schedule he'd given Shaw and discovered no abnormalities. _"No unexplained meetings,"_ he confirmed, _"and none of the appointments listed are raising any red flags."_

Satisfied that their number wasn't in any immediate danger, Shaw headed for the nurse's office and her new career of handing out band aids and contraception advise. 

*** 

Shaw spent her first hour as school nurse cataloguing the various medical supplies the institution had to offer and lamenting their unsuitability for treating more than the most superficial of gunshot wounds. Not that she was planning to discharge her weapon in the school grounds, but whatever danger their number was in it always paid to be prepared, and to that end she made a mental note to bring a trauma kit into work the next day. 

"Knock, knock!" 

The words interrupted Shaw's train of thought and caused her scowl to descend as she turned to look at the unwelcome but familiar face. "Why are you here, Root?" 

"Delia," Root corrected, "and I'm here to teach America's youth the wonders of computer programming." Her smile turned into a pout. "Harold made me promise not to teach them how to hack government systems." Her pout turned into a sigh. "It's so boring." 

Shaw ignored Root's theatrics. "Why are you here?" she repeated. 

Root closed the door firmly behind her before taking up residence on the examination table. "I told you, I'm bored." She began to swing her feet in the uncoordinated manner of a five year old. "High school sucks," she huffed in perfect imitation of the students she was meant to be teaching. 

With a roll of her eyes Shaw dismissed Root's show of teenage petulance and reiterated, "Why are you here?" She took a step closer to forestall whatever lame excuse for humour might next pop out of Root's mouth. "Why did the Machine send you?" 

There had been no indication that Valenzuela had any connection to Samaritan or that his fate could in any way be tied up with their bigger fight against the other AI. Yet Root, who the Machine usually had running around the world fighting the Big Fight, was playing school IT teacher and bugging the ever living hell out of her. It didn't add up. 

Root's feet stopped swinging and she dialled back her good cheer. "She's worried about you," Root admitted. 

Shaw's fists clenched and if The Machine had been before her it would have been gifted with a swift upper-cut to its circuts. "I'm fine," she said, her anger easily redirecting towards Root. "People change jobs all the time." 

"Yes, but normally they don't break their boss's wrist before quitting." 

"He had it coming." Considering where he'd laid his hand just prior to the wrist breaking incident Shaw was confident that ninety-nine percent of women would have done exactly what she'd done, if they'd known how. 

Jumping off the examination table, Root took a step closer to Shaw but remained steadfastly outside of what Shaw considered her personal space. "I'm sure he did, sweetie." 

"Good. So you can tell your all seeing other half that it doesn't have to worry." 

Root's eyes dipped lazily as her smile returned to full brilliance. "She's not worried that you're going to go all Rambo on your next employer, Sam. She's concerned that another blip on Samaritan's radar is going to have them zeroing in on Sameen Grey to a degree that none of us want." She raised her hands in a flourish. "That's where I come in." 

Shaw scowled as she tried her hardest to restrain from grabbing Root by the throat and forcing her to get to the point. 

"Or rather that's where Cordelia Markham comes in." Root fished a flash drive out of her back pocket and handed it to Shaw. "The school runs on a closed-circuit system but the main vehicle entrance and sections of the parking lot are all covered by cameras from the street. I've patched the Machine into the school's system but as far as Samaritan is concerned it's a dead zone." She nodded towards the flash drive. "The drive contains details of the dark areas surrounding the school where you can be sure to remain out of Samaritan's sight." 

Shaw quickly pocketed the flash drive and turned her back on Root; she couldn't bring herself to admit the usefulness of the drive in case The Machine or Root took it as proof that their nannying behaviour was anything less than a total waste of time. "You can go now." 

Miraculously, Root didn't follow through with a parting quip, and at the sound of the door closing Shaw turned to her computer and the information on the flash drive. 

*** 

_"It would appear that Mr Valenzuela has a secret admirer,"_ Harold informed, his voice accompanied by the rapid tapping of keys as he hacked into the Postal Services's records department. _"A fellow teacher at the school has sent him anonymous birthday, Christmas and Valentine's gifts for the last two years."_

__

_"Let me guess,"_ said John, _"Elizabeth Mayer?"_

_"No. The payments all originated from Angela Britt."_

"The welcome wagon?" Shaw found it difficult to picture the outgoing and somewhat pushy English Lit. teacher as a woman who would keep her feelings to herself. "I can't see her pining away in silence." 

_"There's no evidence that Ms Britt and Mr Valenzuela have ever engaged in a romantic social encounter."_ More tapping from Finch's side of the conversation. _"Their e-mail correspondences could be characterised as friendly but totally lacking in romantic subtext."_

__

_"Some people don't know how to flirt,"_ opined Root. _"It's a dying art."_

"Or maybe Angela was smart enough to realise that some people don't respond well to over the top flirtations and stupid pick up lines," said Shaw, her words curt enough to halt Harold's typing and insert a slight pause into the conversation. 

_"Maybe,"_ agreed Root at last, _"or maybe she's just biding her time and waiting for him to realise that they're perfect for each other."_

__

_"Either way,"_ cut in Harold, _"we cannot dismiss her as a possible source of conflict in Mr Valenzuela's life."_

__

__"My money's still on Dillard," said Shaw.

_"I'm with Shaw,"_ said John. _"Odds are that whatever put Valenzuela on the Machine's radar is the same thing that spooked Elizabeth Meyer and that has to be Dillard."_

__

_"May I remind you that we do not take bets on the fate of our numbers?"_ Harold scolded. 

_"I don't know, Harry, it might liven things up a little bit_ ," said Root. 

"You can always quit," Sameen offered, "if the boredom is getting too much for you?" 

_"And miss out on these scintillating conversations?"_

Unseen by the others, Shaw rolled her eyes and promptly turned off her ear wig.


End file.
